Andrea Petagna (Getty Images)
According to a recent report by the Guardian, SPAL’s 23-year-old loanee striker Andrea Petagna has piqued the interest of Premier League giants Leicester City, who are said to be looking at the possibility of bringing the young striker to the King Power Stadium in the upcoming summer transfer window.
It has been suggested that Leicester have had scouts watching the player during his Serie A games and have reportedly been quite interested in what they’ve seen.
Currently, on loan at SPAL from fellow Italian first-division side Atalanta, signing the player on a permanent basis could prove to be a tricky affair for the Foxes though.
As per the regulations in the Italian’s contract, SPAL will be able to exercise an option to sign the player permanently for just €10m at the end of the season, provided they’re able to avoid relegation. Currently, in 13th place and 9 points away from the drop zone with just 5 games to go, that doesn’t look like such a daunting task.
A former product of the remowned AC Milan youth academy, the forward spent a multitude of loan spells across the top Italian clubs from AC Milan and he was eventually signed on a permanent deal by Serie A side Atalanta in the winter of 2016. Since making the switch, he has played in 75 matches for Atalanta but has only scored 11 goals.
This season though, he has really found his feet while on loan at SPAL. With 14 goals to his name from 32 league appearances, the Italian has been quite a force to be reckoned with and he has often been in a shining light in a somewhat mundane outfit.
His ability to time runs makes him a massive threat in-behind while he is more than capable of using his strength to his advantage. Alarmingly strong, he is an extremely technical striker who takes up good positions inside the box. Once he gets into these position, he knows how to put the ball in the back of the net too.
Leicester City have been more than dependant on Jamie Vardy for goals for quite a while now and the fact that the legendary Premier League winning striker isn’t getting any younger will come as gutting news to Foxes fans.
In the absence of Jamie Vardy, they have found it really difficult to make an impact on fixtures. The best example of this was their most recent win against Arsenal, where they hammered the Gunners by a comfortable 3-0 scoreline, all thanks to two brilliant goals by the talismanic Englishman.
His work rate and determination are two factors that will be matched by Petagna if he does make the switch to the Midlands. He’s at the right age to try and progress his career and the Premier League can be the perfect platform for some of the world’s most talented players.
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With Vardy’s rising age, it would be wise on the Foxes’ part to invest in a striker who can replace him in the long-run and Petagna could be the ideal man to do just that.